Parisian heavy rockers Abrahma remain among my most positive impressions from last year’s Roadburn festival. I mean, I dug the band before, but their set (review here) last April put that in a new light, and what was so doubly engaging about it was that not only were they heavy — hell, everybody’s heavy, right? — but they were able to really bring to life the atmospheres and open spaces of their second album, Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird (review here), in a manner that made their sound all the more immersive. And to go with that, they had scope, a melodic presence that stayed through the set even in its most aggressive moments. Heavy rock bands sometimes cast all that off in favor of an all-out assault live. I won’t take anything away from that approach when it works, but Abrahma‘s style was right not to sacrifice its dynamic moodiness for impact.

The Nazareth cover “Witchdoctor Woman” was put to tape last July and is set to be included on the Go Down Fighting tribute that’s been in the works for a while now from Underdogma Records (info here). I’m not sure what led to Abrahma posting it on their own, whether or not it’s in advance of a release for the compilation that will also include Calamus, Långfinger and Against the Grain, but having enjoyed the excuse to revisit how much ass they kicked when I was fortunate enough to see them last Spring, I’ll take what I can get. You’ll hear pretty quickly that Abrahma manage to make the song their own, lending a deep-toned psychedelia to the original, which opened Nazareth‘s 1971 self-titled debut.

Enjoy:

Abrahma, “Witchdoctor Woman” (Nazareth cover)

Discover our cover track of “WITCHDOCTOR WOMAN” from NAZARETH

Soon to be released on “Go Down Fighting” a riff rock tribute to Nazareth!

Song recorded in 2015 by Benjamin Colin at HAKESOUND STUDIO (Romainville, FR) Produced by ABRAHMA Mixed by Benjamin Colin Mastered by James Plotkin @ PLOTKINWORKS